O’Reilly then observed the double standard between the likely media interest if a right-leaning personality like himself made such a statement which seems to employ racial stereotyping versus the lack of interest in such words being uttered by the left-leaning Rather.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Tuesday, March 9, The O’Reilly Factor on FNC:
BILL O'REILLY: On the pinhead front, listen to Dan Rather on President Obama.
DAN RATHER: Part of the undertow in the coming election is going to be President Obama's leadership. And the Republicans will make a case – and a lot of independents will buy this argument: Listen, he just hasn't – look at the health care bill. It was his number one priority, and it took him forever to get it through, and he had to compromise it to death. And a version of, listen, he's a nice person, he's very articulate – this is what’s going to be used against him – but he couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic.
O'REILLY: Now, if I had said the word "watermelon" within a 100- mile radius of President Obama, I would have been hammered beyond belief by the liberal press. And you know it. But not a word about Mr. Rather, who really didn't mean anything derogatory, in my opinion. But you can decide if he's a pinhead.
